"If you look at the world today, we
are losing the
battle rapidly."

- Richard Feachem, Executive Director,
UN Global Fund to
Fight AIDS,
Tuberculosis, and
Malaria

Curriculum goals

The purpose of the WHY WAIT? Curriculum is to address the problems that currently face the youth. The program is intended to give youth sensible reasons to abstain from premarital sex so they can make informed decisions regarding their future by:

• educating the schoolchildren and youth of Africa in God’s principles of character and moral development and sexual purity;
• introducing them to Christ and His principles in order to develop a godly self-concept;
• showing how He can empower them to withstand social and sexual pressures;
• enabling them to live in sexual abstinence until marriage; and subsequently
• implementing God’s principles of family life in order to pass the blessings to the next generation.

Curriculum objectives

The WHY WAIT? Life Skills Curriculum has been divided into an eight-year program (Years/Grades 5-12, for ages 10-18) for implementation in senior primary and secondary schools in Africa. A post-secondary course is also available for teaching first years in colleges and universities. The developers encourage those implementing the curriculum to grow in an understanding of their own life principles and to change where necessary, recognizing that they did not have the advantage of being taught such a curriculum earlier in their lives.

• Year 5 of the curriculum focuses on the rules and responsibilities of living in harmony in the communities we belong to, whether home, village, town, or school.
• Year 6 examines the role of the extended family in the lives of young people, particularly in the age of the AIDS pandemic.
• Year 7 continues to explore the family, turning to a greater focus on parent-child relationships, considering the significance of obedience and the consequences of disobedience of rules set down within families.
• Year 8 provides a transition to a greater focus on the joys and sorrows of being a teenager in the modern world, especially on the dangers of peer pressure to engage in premarital sex.

Click to view PRIMARY Curriculum lessons details

• Year 9 focuses on the physical, sociocultural, and environmental factors that lead to premarital sex and the physical, sociocultural, and environmental reasons for delaying sexual involvement until committed to a monogamous, mutually faithful marriage relationship.
• Year 10 turns to psychological, emotional, and relational factors influencing youth to become involved in premarital sexual relations.
• Year  11  shows  students  the  life principles by which people live and encourages them to choose a biblical life principle which will apply not only to their sexual behavior, but to all aspects of their life.
• Year 12 is devoted to positive parenting, in the realization that many of the students will come from homes which gave them poor parenting models.

Click to view SECONDARY Curriculum lessons details

• The post-secondary course reviews all the most important lessons for life covered in the eight-year primary and secondary program, recognizing that many students who reach college or university may not have had the opportunity to learn the life skills necessary to make significant decisions about relationships, before they make a mistake that may lead to devastating life-long consequences.

Overview of the Why Wait? Curriculum

The Why Wait? curriculum is used by trained teachers for teaching and discussion once a week for an hour.  It is typically used during the religious knowledge time slot or as a supplement to the health education or population and family life curricula.  Following are the topics covered in the WW? secondary curriculum:

Year 5
Lesson 1: Nobody’s a Nobody
Lesson 2: The Drought
Lesson 3: Rules and Responsibilities
Lesson 4: Many Hands Make Light Work
Lesson 5: Working Together
Lesson 6: Encouragement to Persevere
Lesson 7: Justice
Lesson 8: Order and Schedules
Lesson 9: Good Health
Lesson 10: Good Health Habits
Lesson 11: What is HIV/AIDS?
Lesson 12: HIV/AIDS––How Can We Protect Ourselves?
Lesson 13: Responsible Living––Protecting Ourselves and Caring for Others
Lesson 14: Tricks
Lesson 15: Saying ‘No’ With Confidence!
Lesson 16: On Trial for Corruption
Lesson 17: Bribery
Lesson 18: Self-Control
Lesson 19: Character Traits
Lesson 20: Being the Best We Can Be
Lesson 21: Temptation
Lesson 22: Fear
Lesson 23: Coping with Stress
Lesson 24: Good Friends, Bad Friends
Lesson 25: Choices
Lesson 26: Who Will Guard the Well?
Lesson 27: True Heroes
Lesson 28: Mercy
Lesson 29: Living in Community
Lesson 30: I’m Special, You’re Special

Year 6
Lesson 1: Families are Special
Lesson 2: Family Hospitality
Lesson 3: Family Rights and Responsibilities
Lesson 4: Working with Feelings
Lesson 5: Is Family a Bone?
Lesson 6: Superstitions
Lesson 7: Preparations for Traveling
Lesson 8: Your Friend’s Child ...
Lesson 9: Where Do I Come From?
Lesson 10: Communicating Effectively in the Family
Lesson 11: A Friend in Need
Lesson 12: Stepping Stones
Lesson 13: Grooming
Lesson 14: The Oath
Lesson 15: We Realize Someone’s True Colors When We Have Walked with Them
Lesson 16: From Orphans and Slaves to Heirs
Lesson 17: Evil Follows the Perpetrator
Lesson 18: The Nuclear Family
Lesson 19: The Extended Family
Lesson 20: Homecoming
Lesson 21: When We Have Lied, Dawn Comes Fast
Lesson 22: What We Are Is as Important as What We Do
Lesson 23: Self-Discipline
Lesson 24: Handling Peer Pressure
Lesson 25: The Burden of Guilt
Lesson 26: The Work Ethic
Lesson 27: The Fruit of Deception
Lesson 28: Giving Forgiveness
Lesson 29: Letting Go
Lesson 30: The Story of Jesus for Children

Year 7
Lesson 1: Developing Friendships
Lesson 2: Teasing and Revenging
Lesson 3: Be a Friend to Have a Friend
Lesson 4: Each One of Us is Special!
Lesson 5: Parents and Friends C-A-R-E
Lesson 6: Families and Health Habits
Lesson 7: Who am I?
Lesson 8: More Teasing
Lesson 9: Obedience
Lesson 10: The Consequences of Disobedience
Lesson 11: The Rules of the Game
Lesson 12: Rules for Boy-Girl Relationships
Lesson 13: Accountability in Boy-Girl Relationships
Lesson 14: Bullying
Lesson 15: Forgiveness or Revenge?
Lesson 16: Parent-Child Relationships
Lesson 17: True Love?
Lesson 18: Parent-Child Communication
Lesson 19: The Role of the Family
Lesson 20: Changing Family Structures
Lesson 21: Changing Family Responsibilities
Lesson 22: Preparations for ‘Playing House’
Lesson 23: Wait!
Lesson 24: Poor Preparation for Marriage
Lesson 25: The Joys and Sorrows of Parenting
Lesson 26: We Told You So!
Lesson 27: The Price of Disobedience
Lesson 28: Resisting Negative Peer Pressure
Lesson 29: Practicing Positive Peer Pressure
Lesson 30: The Story of Jesus for Children

Year 8
Lesson 1: The Child from Nowhere
Lesson 2: A Very Special Promise
Lesson 3: God is Nowhere? God is Now Here?
Lesson 4: Responsibility
Lesson 5: Patience
Lesson 6: Learning to Wait
Lesson 7: Why Wait?
Lesson 8: Societal Pressure: Don’t Wait!
Lesson 9: The Wisdom of the Past
Lesson 10: Respect for All
Lesson 11: Experience is the Best Teacher
Lesson 12: The Bad Samaritan
Lesson 13: More Haste, Less Speed
Lesson 14: Appearances can be Deceitful; Listen to People’s Words
Lesson 15: The Fig Looks Good to Eat …
Lesson 16: We Reap What We Sow
Lesson 17: Like Mother, Like Daughter
Lesson 18: The Wonder of Life
Lesson 19: The Joys and Sorrows of Childbirth
Lesson 20: The Roots of the Fig Tree
Lesson 21: Family is a Bone
Lesson 22: Know Yourself
Lesson 23: The Fruits of Respect
Lesson 24: Learning to Communicate
Lesson 25: Decision-Making
Lesson 26: Count Your Blessings

Return to Top

Year 9
Lesson 1: WHY WAIT? Because I Am Special
Lesson 2: Basic Human Needs: Security and Significance
Lesson 3: True Love Provides and Protects
Lesson 4: True Love Provides Security and Significance
Lesson 5: Building Friendships
Lesson 6: The Qualities of Good Friendships
Lesson 7: Peer Pressures
Lesson 8: Is It Lust or Love?
Lesson 9: Love is a Choice
Lesson 10: Handling Peer Pressure
Lesson 11: The Power of Self-Awareness
Lesson 12: Choice and Consequences: Premarital Sex
Lesson 13: A Clean Heart for a New Start
Lesson 14: Accepting the Person, Forgiving the Behavior
Lesson 15: Choices and Consequences: STIs and Substance Abuse
Lesson 16: Choice and Consequences-- HIV/AIDS
Lesson 17: HIV/AlDS: Myths and Facts
Lesson 18: Sexual Abuse: A Violation of Human Dignity
Lesson 19: Getting to Know the Opposite Sex
Lesson 20: Setting "Dating" Standards
Lesson 21: Protected Sex
Lesson 22: Preparing for Marriage: Customs and Beliefs
Lesson 23: Marriage Commitment
Lesson 24: Marriage Expectations
Lesson 25: To Serve or be Served?
Lesson 26: Managing Resources
Lesson 27: Biblical Enterprise
Lesson 28: Making a Plan

Year 10
Lesson 1: To God, Everybody's Important
Lesson 2: Being Important vs. Feeling Good About Myself
Lesson 3: Love: An Act of Will
Lesson 4: Responding with Love
Lesson 5: Learning to Search For and Identify True Love
Lesson 6: Loving My Neighbor as Myself
Lesson 7: The Characteristics of Love
Lesson 8: Love is Patient
Lesson 9: Love is Obedient
Lesson 10: Love is not Jealous
Lesson 11: Love is not Arrogant
Lesson 12: Love is not Resentful
Lesson 13: Love Endures All
Lesson 14: Love is Faithful
Lesson 15: Pressure to Conform to the World
Lesson 16: Love, Sex, and AIDS
Lesson 17: The Loneliness of People With AIDS
Lesson 18: Experiencing and Expressing Feelings About AIDS
Lesson 19: Learning to Communicate
Lesson 20: Seek First to Understand
Lesson 21: Facts vs. Ideas and Judgments
Lesson 22: Getting in Touch with Feelings
Lesson 23: Healthy Strategies for Responding to Emotions
Lesson 24: Emotions—Thoughts—Actions
Lesson 25: Leadership Styles
Lesson 26: Stewardship
Lesson 27: Enterprise in the Formal and Non-formal Sectors
Lesson 28: Discovering Ourselves

Year 11
Lesson 1: Identifying Choices
Lesson 2: Life Principles—One: The Pursuit of Pleasure
Lesson 3: Life Principles—Two: The Search for Power
Lesson 4: Life Principles—Three: The Avoidance of Responsibility
Lesson 5: Life Principles—Four: God's Way of Life
Lesson 6: The Nature of Life
Lesson 7: The Purpose of Life
Lesson 8: My Life Map
Lesson 9: Accepting Myself
Lesson 10: Being Myself
Lesson 11: Forgetting Myself in Loving
Lesson 12: Perceptions of God
Lesson 13: Correcting Faulty Beliefs
Lesson 14: Belonging
Lesson 15: Good Communication
Lesson 16: Guidelines for Speaking
Lesson 17: Guidelines for Listening
Lesson 18: Promoting Good Interpersonal Communication
Lesson 19: The Nature of Love
Lesson 20: God's View of Sex
Lesson 21: The Creation of Sex
Lesson 22: God Protects our Sexuality
Lesson 23: God Provides For Our Sexuality
Lesson 24: Understanding God's Forgiveness
Lesson 25: The Joy of Difference
Lesson 26: Perspectives on Womanhood
Lesson 27: Perspectives on Manhood
Lesson 28: The Joy of Obedience

Year 12

Lesson 1: Identifying Heroes
Lesson 2: The Building Blocks of Parenting
Lesson 3: Preparing the Foundation
Lesson 4: Acceptance
Lesson 5: Developing Acceptance
Lesson 6: Appreciation
Lesson 7: Expressing Appreciation
Lesson 8: Affection
Lesson 9: Identifying Affection
Lesson 10: Demonstrating Affection
Lesson 11: Availability
Lesson 12: Demonstrating Availability
Lesson 13: Planning to be Available
Lesson 14: Availability
Lesson 15: Availability: Quantity Versus Quality
Lesson 16: Accountability
Lesson 17: The Dangers of Lack of Accountability
Lesson 18: Mutual Accountability
Lesson 19: Parenting Styles
Lesson 20: Parenting Styles: Consequences
Lesson 21: Discipline: Natural Consequences
Lesson 22: Authority: Establishing Protective Boundaries and Guidelines
Lesson 23: Who is Responsible for What?
Lesson 24: Family
Lesson 25: Parenthood

Return to Top